Duck hunting is an expensive hobby. In fact, duck hunting is one of the most expensive types of hunting in North America. One reason why duck hunting can be so expensive is because traditional duck hunting requires a lot of gear. With the cost of gear going up in price every year, it is important to maintain your equipment to get many years of service. I always look at my gear as an investment and like any investor, I always try to get them maximum return on my investment. Two types of equipment that require a substantial amount of money are decoys a motion decoys. I believe in buying good quality decoys and maintaining them to get years of good use. In this post we will share some simple tricks that will allow you to get years of service out of floating and motion decoys. First, allow me to explain why you should properly store you decoys during the off-season.
Why properly storing you decoys can really pay off
I feel there is an obvious answer to this question, however, many hunters fail to realize how much money they can save over the years if they will just spend a couple hours after season properly storing their decoys. If you are constantly spending money on new equipment every year, you could be missing out on other duck hunting opportunities. Lets say you spend about $150 each year buying new decoys and motion decoys each year. Think about what you could do by saving that $150 for a few years. You could save up to buy a new shot gun. You could also take that extra money and spend it on some other duck hunting gear or pay for the gas in your duck boat. What I like to do is save that extra money for a few years then go on a guided duck hunt in a different part of the country. There are countless ways you can ways to utilize the money you can save by properly storing you motion decoys and regular floating decoys.
How to properly store your floating decoys during the off-season
Step 1 Inspect
Inspect you decoys for damage incurred during hunting season. If you guys hunt in big groups, there is an excellent chance some of your decoys have experienced friendly fire during the heat of battle. Based on my experience in the blind, some hunters tend to get a little trigger happy when groups of duck land on the water inside gun range. Ducks sitting on the water inside a decoy spread will often be accidentally shot.
Step 2 Repair the ones that have a leak
You can save a shot decoy, if you can recover it. If you have a few decoys with bullet holes you will need to try and remove the water inside the decoy. You can locate the holes and position the decoy in a way that will allow the water to drain. Once the water from inside the decoy has completely drained, you can now apply water resistant silicone into the hole then let the silicone to completely cure. Once the silicone has cured, they decoy should be ready to go for next duck season. Keep in mind, some decoys that have been shot might have too much damage and will possibly be beyond repair. However, once you repair the ones you worth saving, you should properly store all your floating decoys.
Step 3 Store the decoys in a dry place out of direct sunlight
This step is easy to accomplish, however, some hunters fail to follow this easy step. In my opinion, one of the most important features of a good decoy is the paint. The paint on a decoy is critical for mimicking the natural colors of a duck. UV rays will fade a decoy over time. Keeping your decoys out of direct sunlight during the off-season will dramatically reduce decoys from fading and help prevent the paint from becoming dull. Keeping decoys out of the sun during the off-season will help keep the paint looking natural. UV rays will also weaken the plastic, decoys are made out of, over a long period of time.
Motion Decoy Storage
Motion decoys are perhaps the more expensive type of duck decoy. Of course there are motion decoys that create motion by utilizing wind, however, I will focus on the battery powered variety. You can simply follow the tips previously shared under the floating decoy types. One of them most popular motion decoy brands if the “MOJO” brand. I have enjoyed great success using this brand. I love the simplicity in the design and the reliability MOJO offers in their motion decoys. The “Lucky Duck” motion decoy brand is another good on, however there are a few more moving parts with this brand. Regardless, you can use the same steps for properly storing both brands.
Step 1 Inspection
Just like floating decoys, you should inspect the exterior of your motion decoys and look for damage incurred during duck season. Finding holes and possible cracks in the body of motion decoys is extremely important for increasing the life of the decoy. You do not want excessive water entering the cavity of a motion decoy and possibly ruining the electronics. Of course you cannot completely keep water out due to the wet environment associated with duck hunting. However, keeping water from touching the electrical components inside a motion decoy can really increase the years of service. Hole near the top of a motion decoy can possibly allow water to touch some of the electrical components.
Step 2 Repair and prep for storage
Again, like floating decoys, use a sealing substance like liquid silicone to seal BB hole and small cracks. Let the silicone completely cure before moving the decoy to its off-season home.
I also recommend you completely remove the batteries from motion decoys. Some decoys use AA batteries while other use the small 6 Volt battery. You should disconnect and completely remove the batteries. Over time, batteries can become corrosive and damage the connections that lead to the motor. In fact, corrosion build up can completely ruin the wires that transfer the power from the battery to the motor if left connected over the off-season.
Step 3 Store
Store your motion decoys in a dry area out of the weather. I like to keep my motion decoys in my portable building during the off-season. By doing so, I keep my motion decoys from fading and keep excessive moisture from damaging the internal components.
Summary
You can enjoy years of service from your hunting equipment by taking a little time after season to properly store the equipment each year. There are a number of costs associated with duck hunting to begin with, why not try to preserver your hunting investments? If you utilize the tips shared in this post, you can possibly enjoy many years of good use. These tips can be done within just a couple hours each year after hunting season.
I hope you guys find these tips useful. Thank you for reading this post and visiting Americanhuntingsafari.com. We are average hunters just like. We love the outdoors and constantly try to find ways to enjoy hunting and fishing without breaking the bank. We believe anyone can find adventure and enjoy fun in the outdoors by using practical advice with a few good tips. You can find more useful tips and trick for hunting and fishing by clicking on our blog menu and selecting the category you are interested in learning about. You can also check out our home page at Americanhuntingsafari.com. We share useful tips for hunting, fishing, and cooking wild game.
Thanks for reading and please come back!